When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God most high? I beseech you, torment me not.
he cried.
Luke 4:33-36 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, …
Matthew 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Mark 1:24-27 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God…
What.
Luke 8:37,38 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again…
I beseech.
Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
he cried out and fell down before Him
The act of falling down is a sign of submission and recognition of authority. In the presence of Jesus, the demons within the man are compelled to acknowledge His superior power. This act foreshadows the ultimate submission of all creation to Christ, as seen in Philippians 2:10-11, where every knee will bow to Jesus.
shouting in a loud voice
The loud voice signifies the desperation and fear of the demons. It also emphasizes the spiritual turmoil within the man. This loud cry can be seen as a manifestation of the spiritual battle taking place, as the forces of darkness confront the light of Christ.
“What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
The demons recognize Jesus' divine identity, calling Him the "Son of the Most High God." This title affirms Jesus' unique relationship with God the Father and His authority over all spiritual realms. The acknowledgment by the demons contrasts with the lack of understanding by many of Jesus' contemporaries, including His own disciples at times.
I beg You not to torture me!”
The demons' plea not to be tortured reveals their awareness of Jesus' power to judge and their fear of impending punishment. This reflects the eschatological reality of Christ's ultimate victory over evil and the final judgment, as described in Revelation 20:10. The demons' fear underscores the authority of Jesus over all spiritual entities and His role as the righteous judge.
- The demoniac immediately recognizes the presence of the Lord. In the parallel account, “When the man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees before Him” (Mark 5:6).
- Demons are never indifferent to Christ’s arrival; their reaction confirms James 2:19—“Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
- The instant visual contact underscores Jesus’ complete authority; no hiding, no delay, no negotiation. Light exposes darkness the moment it appears (cf. John 1:5).
- The cry is involuntary, revealing the internal torment of evil confronted by holiness. Similar outbreaks occur in Luke 4:33–34, where an unclean spirit “cried out in a loud voice.”
- Evil spirits cannot mask their fear; their audio outburst betrays their dread of judgment (cf. Mark 1:23–24).
- For onlookers—and for us reading today—this cry verifies that spiritual warfare is real and personal.
- Physical prostration displays forced submission. “Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him” (Mark 3:11).
- This scene prefigures Philippians 2:10, when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”
- Even hostile powers acknowledge Jesus’ supremacy; their capitulation demonstrates the literal truth that Christ is Lord of all realms.
- The volume amplifies the urgency. Terror drives the demon to broadcast its alarm. Compare Luke 4:33 (“cried out in a loud voice”) and Acts 16:17 (the possessed slave girl “shouting”).
- Loudness here does not indicate authority; it exposes panic. Evil may roar, but it is powerless in Christ’s presence.
- The public nature of the shout allows witnesses—and readers—to see the clash between darkness and the Savior played out transparently.
- The spirit verbally confesses Jesus’ divine identity, echoing Matthew 8:29 and Luke 4:34.
- “Son of the Most High God” affirms Christ’s unique status even from the mouth of a demon, reminding us that truth remains truth regardless of the speaker.
- The question “What do You want with me?” admits Jesus’ right to command, judge, and dispose of evil as He wills (cf. Mark 1:24: “Have You come to destroy us?”).
- The plea reveals foreknowledge of coming judgment. Demons understand Revelation 20:10 and 2 Peter 2:4; they know their destiny is torment.
- The verb “beg” parallels Matthew 8:29 (“Have You come here to torment us before the proper time?”); it shows demons can only request, never dictate.
- Christ’s very presence is a preview of their future defeat, so they seek any delay possible. Their fear magnifies the certainty of divine justice.
Luke 8:28 portrays the immediate, involuntary submission of demonic powers when confronted by Jesus. The demoniac’s sight of Christ triggers a cry of terror, a posture of surrender, a loud public acknowledgment of Jesus’ divine status, and a desperate plea to avoid judgment. Every movement and word in the verse confirms that Jesus is the sovereign Son of the Most High God, before whom even the fiercest spiritual enemies must bow, confess, and await inevitable condemnation.
(28) What have I to do with thee?--Note the exact agreement with St. Mark's report rather than St. Matthew's, both as to there being but one demoniac, and as to the words used by him.Verse 28. - When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice aid, What have I to do with thee, Jesus? "The sight of Jesus appears to have produced an extraordinary impression upon him. The holy, calm, gentle majesty, the tender compassion, and the conscious sovereignty which were expressed in the aspect of our Lord, awakened in him, by force of contrast, the humbling consciousness of his own state of moral disorder" (Godet). Thou Son of God most high. There seems some probability that this expression was frequently used in cases of exorcism of evil spirits; for again in Acts 16:17 the poor slave-girl, who we read had a Pythoness-spirit, which brought in no small gain to her masters, speaks of Paul and his friends, just before the apostle in his Master's Name cast the spirit out, as servants of the most high God. I beseech thee, torment me not. In this form of possession one remarkable and very terrible feature seems to have been the divided consciousness; the sufferer identifies himself with the demons, and now one speaks, now the other. St. Matthew adds a dread detail to this petition to the Lord, "before the time:" the evil spirits thus recognizing a period when certain torment would be their hapless destiny. The expression "torment" meets us in the parable of Lazarus; the dwelling-place of the rich man after death is a place of torment. In Matthew 18:34 the ministers of judgment are the tormentors. One very solemn reason why this special case of exorcism on the part of our Lord is related with so much detail and repeated by the three evangelists, SS. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, seems to be the glimpse which the dialogue between the evil spirits and the Master opens to us of the dread realities hidden in the future for those who sin deliberately against the will of God. The existence of the place or state of torment is affirmed very pointedly by our Lord and his disciples; but having done this they dwell but little on it. There is a striking and solemn quotation in Dr. Morrison's 'Commentary on St. Mark' on this clear but guarded reference to the final sufferings of those who will not be submissive to the moral will of God, "Further curiosity as to the when, the where, and the how, does not become beings whose main business and greatest wisdom is to fly from, not to pry too close into, these terrible secrets of the dark kingdom."